These articles originally appeared on we!, our weekly newsletter.

As the Second Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom-2) is currently being conducted in Geneva, Switzerland (17-28 February), additional discussions have been rising about creating an alternative to the ongoing WSIS process.

One venue that was created primarily by Northern American communication advocates to discuss these alternatives is the alternative WSIS e-mail group or . Its direct aims are still sketchy as of now, being a new group and all, but somehow, it is becoming a good space for alternative discussions about the past and ongoing WSIS-related events. It would be beneficial for women to monitor this site because it is important to learn the other aspects of the WSIS, specifically what advocates and communication networks have to say about the ongoing official processes.

So far, there has been a critique that the official process is becoming a platform for an agenda that is not beneficial to all but only to a select group of stakeholders. Other critiques observed from other mailing lists like the point out troublesome principles in existing official and non-official documents like the Orientation Non-Paper which was drafted by the president of the Preparatory Committee. An example of the troublesome principle can be seen in how the paper deals with women (or the nominal mention of women, for that matter) in the key principles. Civil society players from NGOs monitoring the WSIS have also stated that official documents have problematic statements (concepts appear vague, ideas appear not properly/professionally drafted) that can have dangerous interpretations (or misinterpretations).

As we await the outcomes of the PrepCom-2, we are posting here some notes gathered from the alternative WSIS email list that narrates the rationale behind the creation of such an alternative endeavour.

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I. PURPOSE

What are the aims of activity outside, in opposition, or in parallel to the official WSIS process?

Various aims have been proposed. [What follows is by no means comprehensive but provides a snapshot of concerns that many feel are not being adequately met, if they are addressed at all, within the official WSIS process.]

1. Voice clear and united opposition to the privatisation of information and communication

   Oppose the so-called 'liberalisation' of media conglomerates, telecom infrastructures, and content industries, which really means re-regulation in the interest of the giant corporations; oppose the tightening of the so-called intellectual property rights regime which strangles the knowledge commons; oppose the short-sighted adoption of proprietary software by many governments; oppose the normalisation of the discourse of 'public-private-partnership' that makes privatisation seem inevitable and avoids talk of communication systems focused on people before profits.

2. Articulate clear alternatives to the privatisation of information and communication:

   Promote communication as a human right and as a public good; promote and protect non-commercial, non-profit information, communication, and media systems (while taking care to avoid monopoly control by the state); promote regulation at international, national, and local levels to block the concentration of media ownership in the hands of the multinational conglomerates; promote alternatives to intellectual property rights including limiting such rights to individuals (not corporations); promote the knowledge commons, fair use, and copyright exemptions for poor countries; promote free and open source software; advance the discourse and practice of the global justice movement in taking the battle against neo-liberalism to the field of communication systems, and demand communication systems that serve people before profits.

3. Oppose the domination of communication systems by the U.S. Empire:

   Denounce the militarisation of communications, the use of information warfare, the rise of the regime of electronic surveillance, the role of U.S.-based media conglomerates in promoting war and then reaping the spoils--these same conglomerates that promote war include arms manufacturers, and later receive lucrative contracts to 'rebuild' telecom infrastructure and systems.

4. Demand the democratisation of the decision making process:

   Take the decision-making out of the closed rooms of politicians and the corporate sector and into a truly public forum. Create a space or spaces where civil society truly has a diversity of voices in the discussion on what media and information technologies should be, with full participation beyond a rhetorical nod.

5. Insist on the full and meaningful inclusion of women, youth, indigenous, ethnic minorities, sexual minorities, migrants, the homeless and landless, poor people, and all excluded and marginalised groups at all levels of discussion, decision-making, and implementation:

   Mainstream all these groups throughout government, civil society, the private sector, multilateral bodies and processes related to information and communication, with adequate funding and mechanisms for participation.

6. OTHER key points not being dealt with inside WSIS, or that could benefit from outside pressure.

II. MANIFESTATIONS

How should these aims be advanced?

There is general agreement that all these goals should be advanced both within and outside the WSIS process.

It is unclear how important WSIS will be. Some see activity outside the process as a way to increase pressure on the inside and help advance our concerns in the WSIS Declaration and Action Plan. Many prefer to think of it as an opportunity in terms of people who will be concentrated in Geneva, and in terms of international press coverage of the summit that can be used to inject our concerns into global media space. Others see it as an appropriate moment to push forward the growth of the global media justice movement in many parallel local events, or to advance the idea of a human right to communicate.

The following concrete encounters/manifestations have been proposed and are in various stages of development: [This list is currently mostly limited to European and U.S. events. Please circulate information about other relevant events on ]

I. Alternative/Counter/Parallel WSIS manifestations

During WSIS Phase 1 in Geneva, Switzerland (10-12 December 2003): * A 'communications village' that will be an encounter space * A Conference on the Right to Communicate * A series of rallies and marches * A video conference with the presence of spokespeople from regional meetings * Tactical Media interventions * Cultural events

NYC or Philadelphia, USA (during WSIS, no date specified):
Break the Media Blackout - A conference to take place during the time the WSIS is taking place in Geneva, serving as the regional U.S. East Coast alternative to WSIS.

II. Lead up events, encounters, manifestations

* 03-05 March 2003 in Delhi, India:
Sarai Crisis/Media conference - Crisis/Media, is a conference that will bring together media professionals, activists, and scholars to discuss crisis in the media, and the crisis of the media today.

* 19-23 March 2003 in San Francisco, USA:
National Federation of Community Broadcasters conference - Panel on Media Democracy Movements.

* 19-20 May 2003 in Barranquilla, Colombia:
OURMedia III conference - will discuss citizens' movements toward democratisation of the media, evaluation of citizens'/community/alternative media, community media regulation from around the world (comparative regulation), community media for peace (projects in Burundi, Colombia, Afghanistan, the Balkans - Search for Common Ground), citizens' media from around the world, The Indymedia Movement (Kidd), WSIS, the CRIS Campaign. A proposal to try to emerge from OURmedia with a draft declaration for the Alternative/Countersummit.

* 12-14 September 2003 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
Next 5 Minutes 4 - International Festival of Tactical Media. Next 5 Minutes is a festival that brings together art, campaigns, experiments in media technology, and transcultural politics

* November 2003 in Madison, USA:
Free Press Convention - will focus primarily on building a broad-based U.S. media democracy movement but will include a strand of focus on global media democracy.

III. 2005 alternative/countersummit

* World Social Forum, Thematic Forum on the Right to Communicate / Media Justice - A proposal to develop a thematic Social Forum that addresses these concerns, to meet parallel to WSIS Tunis 2005.